Sept 15, 2014
Dear OAC Members,
During the past 2 fishing seasons, several small boat operators have commented
that NMFS observers on their vessels were very concerned about their safety on a
vessel that is drifting. More than one skipper reported the observers were told that
up to 80% of accidents on small boat occur when they are drifting for the night. This
anxiety increased tensions in an already challenging work environment.
In June, ALFA reported this problem to NMFS FMA and asked that they look into any
aspect of observer training where this figure might be coming from. We also noted
that ALFA was asking NIOSH (the National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health) to look at casualty data for the small boat fixed gear fleet to determine the
correct information.
In July NIOSH reported: “During 2000-2013, there were 52 vessel disasters (defined as
a vessel emergency in which the crew abandoned ship) in the Gulf of Alaska fixed gear
groundfish fleets. These fleets were defined in this data query as vessels using longline
and pot gear to harvest halibut, sablefish and pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska (NMFS
regulatory areas 610, 620, 630, 640, 649, 650, 659).
These are vessel emergencies that involve damage to the vessel that force the crews to
abandon ship. In the data I sent you, I did not included MOB [man overboard] or other
types of incidents to individual workers…..Below [see table] are the initiating events
for the 52 vessel disasters. The initiating event is the first problem that occurred in the
sequence of events leading to the disaster.
The exact circumstance of a vessel drifting while the crew is asleep is not directly
measured in the available data. However, there is information about the contribution
of fatigue and sleeping at the helm to vessel disasters. Out of 52 vessel disasters
described above, seven (15%) were cocumented by USCG investigators as having been
related to crewmember fatigue or sleeping while on watch…..All 7 had the same
initiating event: Struck rocks/bottom.”
The table below shows that collision, the likely problem to occur while drifting,
accounted for only 4% of incidents in this fleet. The #1 problem was vessel
grounding of which 7 (over 50%) were attributed to crew fatigue. Many skippers
report that on a boat with 3-4 bunks, when the observer takes one bunk and the
crew is forced to keep watch all night, the crew members get less than 5 hrs. of sleep
at night, and one crew will get a split night consisting of short 2 hr. naps. The effect
on crew fatigue is significant, and based on NIOSH data, the effect on vessel safety
due to having an observer on board is also significant.
ALFA pursued this data request in the hopes that the observer training program can
use the data to ensure observers are properly informed of the most common cause
of vessel disasters in the small boat fleet, and the effect of crew fatigue on vessel
safety. We continue to support development of alternatives such as EM which allow
at-sea dat to be collected from vessels where carrying a human observer is
impractical and increases safety concerns.
Sincerely, Dan Falvey
GOA Longline and Pot Vessel
Disasters
Initiating Event
Struck Rocks/Bottom
Flooding
Instability
Fire/Explosion
Struck by Large Wave
Prop Entanglement
Engine Failure
Collision
Struck by Wind Gust
Steering Failure
Unknown Events
Number
13
11
8
6
5
2
2
2
1
1
1